Steward BrandConnecting your platforms
What each network needs before it will let you post, and what breaks.
Everything else waits on this. A workspace with no connected account can plan and write, but has nowhere to publish. You connect from Platforms, pick a network, sign in, grant access, done.
What each platform requires
| Platform | Account type you need | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn, personal | Any LinkedIn account | Posts as you. The simplest connection on the platform. |
| LinkedIn, company page | Admin or Editor of the page | You sign in as yourself; the pages you administer are then selectable. |
| A Facebook Page (not just a profile) | You must be an admin of the Page. Personal profiles cannot be published to. | |
| A Business or Creator account, linked to a Facebook Page | Connected through Facebook. A personal Instagram account will not work. | |
| X | An X account with API access | Posting limits are tight on the free API tier. |
| TikTok | A TikTok account | Video only. Some capabilities depend on TikTok’s review of the app. |
| YouTube | A YouTube channel | Video only. Uploads count against your daily quota. |
| Mastodon | An account on any Mastodon server | You give us your server’s address and approve the app there. No developer account, no app review, nobody to ask. |
Mastodon works a little differently: there is no single company behind it, so instead of picking it from a list you tell us which server your account is on and we register with that server directly. Up to four images or one video per post. Your access never expires, so you will not be asked to reconnect it.
Connecting, step by step
1
Open Platforms
From the sidebar in your workspace.
2
Choose the network
You are sent to that platform to sign in.
3
Grant the permissions asked for
Declining any of them usually means publishing fails later.
4
Pick the page or account
Where several are available, a Facebook Page, a LinkedIn company page.
5
Set how often it should post
Posts per day per connection is what the planner uses to fill your calendar.
When something goes wrong
| What you see | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The sign-in bounced back with a mismatch error | The flow started on one address and finished on another, usually from a stale tab. | Close the extra tabs and start the connection again from Platforms. |
| Connection shows as expired | The access token ran out and could not be renewed. | Reconnect. Access is refreshed automatically, but a password change or a revoked app stops that. |
| Connection went inactive on its own | Renewal failed three times in a row, so it was switched off rather than left failing silently. | Reconnect the account. |
| Posts fail on Instagram or TikTok only | Almost always an account-type or media-format problem, not the connection. | Confirm Instagram is Business or Creator, and that TikTok and YouTube posts carry video. |
Signing in always happens on stewardbrand.com, even though your workspace has its own address. That is deliberate, the social networks only accept one fixed return address per app.